Ognjen Ožegović ( sr-cyr, Огњен Ожеговић, , born 9 June 1994) is a Serbian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for Turkish side

Sakaryaspor Sakaryaspor Kulübü Derneği is a Turkish professional football club playing in the TFF First League, which is the second level of Turkish football. History The club was formed in 1965 after the merger of ''Adapazarı Gençlerbirliği'', ''Adap ...

on loan from the Russian club Pari Nizhny Novgorod.

Club career

Born in Gradiška, Ožegović made his first football steps with the local club Kozara and later he moved to Borac Banja Luka. Subsequently, Ožegović went through the youth setup at

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

, where captained a team for a period. He was initially sent out on loan to Banat Zrenjanin (

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

), and then to

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-Cyrl, Вождовац, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 174,864 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south ...

(

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

), in order to gain experience. In early 2014, Ožegović terminated his contract with Red Star. He subsequently signed a six-month deal with Rad, helping them avoid relegation from the top flight in the 2013–14 campaign. In the 2014–15 season, Ožegović played for

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

(fall) and Borac Čačak (spring). He scored six times for the latter side, including a long-range volley in a 3–1 win over his former club Jagodina, securing him the Goal of the Season award. In July 2015, Ožegović signed a three-year contract with

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

. He netted seven league goals for the side, including a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

in a 2–0 win against Javor Ivanjica that earned him the Goal of the Season award for the second time in a row. He also scored twice in the first leg of the third qualifying round for the UEFA Europa League, in a 4–0 away victory over Sampdoria. In early 2016, Ožegović moved abroad to China and joined

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

club Changchun Yatai. He failed to score in nine games for the side, before returning to Serbia. On 31 August 2016, Ožegović signed a one-year contract with Čukarički. He scored a total of 16 goals in 25 league appearances over the course of the 2016-17 season. In addition to the regular season, Ožegović was prolific in Čukarički's 2016–17 Serbian Cup campaign, scoring in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

against Javor and in the second leg of the semi-final against

Partizan

On 31 August 2017, Ožegović joined Partizan. He signed a three-year contract and was given the number 51 shirt. He made his debut for the club on 9 September 2017, against Mladost Lučani. He scored his first goal for Partizan on 17 September 2017 against Radnički Niš in a 3–1 home league victory. On 28 September 2017, he recorded his first European goals after found the back of the net in a 2–3 home loss to

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

in 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage second match. He also scored goal in 2–1 home victory over Young Boys, on 26 November, as Partizan advanced to the knockout stage after 13 years. On 14 April 2018, Ožegović scored his first goal in Eternal Derby, converting a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in a 2–1 defeat.

Arsenal Tula (loan)

On 4 September 2018, he joined

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club

FC Arsenal Tula FC Arsenal Tula () is a Russian professional football club from Tula playing in the second-tier Russian First League. Originally founded in 1923, FC Arsenal Tula was promoted to the Russian Premier League in 2014 for the first time in its hi ...

on loan.

Partizan return

Ožegović returned to Partizan for the 2019–20 season. He scored his first Super Liga goal on 4 August 2019, in a 4–0 win over

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; ) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava (river), Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is nam ...

Darmstadt 98

On 2 September 2019, Ožegović joined Darmstadt 98 on a two-year deal. In July 2020, after making just five appearances as a substitute, he agreed the termination of his contract.

Manisa

On 20 January 2022, Ožegović signed a 1.5-year contract with

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

Volos

Ožegović made his debut for the team on 11 September 2022 at the

Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium (), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium (, ), is a Association football, football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the home ground of the Piraeus football club Olympiacos F.C., Olympiacos. It i ...

against

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, scoring a goal in the 29th minute after an assist from

Paolo Fernandes Paolo Fernandes Cantin (born 19 August 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Greek Super League club AEK Athens. Mainly a left winger, he also plays as an attacking midfielder. Club career Manchester City Born in Zaragoza, A ...

. A week later, in the fifth round of the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

, Ožegović scored his second goal for Volos against Ionikos. On 10 November, Ožegović scored two goals against

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

and thus brought his team three new points. On 16 January 2023, Ožegović ended his team's five-match winless streak by scoring the only goal in a 0–1 win over Ionikos.

Kifisia

On 14 July 2023, Ožegović signed for the 2022–23 Super League Greece 2 champions A.E. Kifisia. He made his debut for his new club on 20 August 2023 in a 3–0 loss against PAS Giannina. On 1 September 2023, in a 2–1 win over Atromitos Ožegović and Antonis Papasavvas helped their club record their first ever victory in the top tier of Greek football.

Pari NN

On 4 July 2024, Ožegović signed a two-year contract with Pari Nizhny Novgorod in the

. On 24 January 2025, he was loaned to

in Turkey.

International career

Ožegović made his official debut for the Serbia U17s at the

2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the tenth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship. Serbia hosted the tournament between the 3 and 15 May. 6 Teams also qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Players born af ...

. He subsequently represented

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

at the

2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, since its reclassification from an under-18 tournament in 2002, and the 62nd since the tournament was created in 1948. It was hosted in Li ...

, as the team won the tournament. Four years later, Ožegović was named in the final 23-man squad for the

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2017) was the 21st edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international youth association football, football championship organised by UEFA for ...

. In September 2016, Ožegović appeared in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

's friendly match against

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Controversy

In an interview for mondo.rs in summer 2017, he said that his dream was to win a title with Red Star and celebrate it in front of the north stand with Delije. He also said that his dream did not come truth because of club policy at time, which, in his words, favoured "players from Ghana and Uganda over Red Star children." When he became a potential transfer target of Partizan in late August that summer, many Partizan supporters were against their club signing him. Finally, Ožegović signed with Partizan on last day of the summer transfer window. During the official promotion at new club, sports director Ivica Iliev revealed that Ožegović started playing football with Partizan. Several days later in interview for Sportski žurnal, Ožegović explained that he spent three months training with the club at the age of 13.

Personal life

Ožegović is religious Orthodox Christian. He was born as the only child in the family. His father, Marinko, is a retired footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for Borac Banja Luka and Rudar Velenje.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Red Star Belgrade *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2011–12 Partizan *

: 2017–18 Serbia * UEFA Under-19 Championship:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozegovic, Ognjen 1994 births People from Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina Footballers from Banja Luka Region Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Living people Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church Serbian men's footballers Serbia men's youth international footballers Serbia men's under-21 international footballers Serbia men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Red Star Belgrade footballers FK Banat Zrenjanin players FK Voždovac players FK Rad players FK Jagodina players FK Borac Čačak players FK Vojvodina players Changchun Yatai F.C. players FK Čukarički players FK Partizan players FC Arsenal Tula players SV Darmstadt 98 players Adanaspor footballers Manisa F.K. footballers Volos F.C. players FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod players Sakaryaspor footballers Serbian SuperLiga players Serbian First League players Chinese Super League players Russian Premier League players 2. Bundesliga players TFF 1. Lig players Super League Greece players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece A.E. Kifisia F.C. players